this is the kind of trouble we are having in pa

this is the kind of trouble we are having in pa

Fellow Tea Party Patriots,

This is an amazing response! In one sentence Eichelberger says, "I know how

dysfunctional trying to set future cost of living increases are for

local officials" and then claims these automatic cost of living increases are fair.

So the government is "dysfunctional" but giving raises to those same dysfunctional employees is "fair"?

I believe we need to answer this with some facts of our won. For example:

· From 2000 to 2007 according to US Census figures the median US household (family) income dropped
from $58,555 to $56,545( Pa median income is about $49,800). (Note the median
government employee, a single employee, not a family, is not making $74,000).

· At the same time overall US productivity rose 2.5% each year (a total productivity increase of 17.5%)

· The cost of living went up for the taxpayers the same as it did for public employees

Here is another quote from the Lufkin Daily News, dated November 30, 2010:

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (federal employees themselves), the federal government — with about 2 million workers, excluding the military and employees of the United States Postal Service — is the largest
employer in the country.

The BLS also lists the average wage for those employees at $74,403 in 2009. Compare that to the U.S. Census Bureau’s estimate that the median income per U.S. household was $49,777 in 2009, about 50 percent less than individual
federal employees earned.

Median household income has decreased 4.2 percent since 2007, yet federal employees have been granted an average wage increase of 3 percent each year. Note Pennsylvania employees
get about the same - the increases are tied to the same databases.

So as the taxpayer's income isdecreasing and the cost of living is increasing the taxpayer's standard of living is slowly declining. And what about the public employees?
They continue to get raises, paid for by those same taxpayers who are seeing
their standard of living go down! Please explain how this is fair?

Many taxpayers have also been forced to cover more and more of their medical insurance costs, if they can afford medical insurance at all. And what of our public employees? Again the
taxpayer continues to pay for most if not all of public employee medical
insurance.

Note, that while taxpayers were losing income they were becoming even more productive (2.5%
annually). Can the same be said for our public employees? Is government
more productive?

It seems Senator Eichelberger feels public employees are "entitled" to annual increases merely because they exist. There seems to be no association in his mind between what the
government brings in (in taxes - this would be sales in a private company) and
what we can afford to pay. There also seems to be no association between
performance and pay. In the private sector poor performance leads to
lower sales and to lower pay or even no pay. Judging by the figures above in the private sector
even good performance leads to lower pay we are increasing productivity
and making less. But in the
government poor performance leads to …….
a raise. No wonder they can’t pass a
balanced budget!

Elected officials are elected to make decisions, not to pass the buck with automatic raises. This is a cop out on their responsibility because it is sometimes politically hazardous to say NO! How much easier it is
to make it automatic and not have to
vote! You can't be held responsible for either supporting a raise, or not
supporting a raise.

It is this kind of thinking by career politicians, both Democrat and Republican that has to be confronted. I say there's no time like the present!

Jim